VANCOUVER - In a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday night in Saskatoon, the UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team dropped Game 3 of its Canada West semifinal series, bringing to an end the 2013-14 campaign.

Saskatchewan advances to the Canada West Championship series, which it will host against the Regina Cougars next weekend.

Tied 2-2 with less than four minutes to go in the third period, an interference call to UBC put Saskatchewan on the power play, and with 2:12 left, Huskie Kandace Cook solved goaltender Danielle Lemon for the go-ahead goal. Though they played with tremendous hunger and heart until the final buzzer, the clock simply ran out on the 'Birds.

The Thunderbirds jumped to a quick 1-0 lead merely 2:14 into the opening frame when Hannah Heisler pounced on a loose puck on the crease, cramming it in the net. Tension was quick to escalate, and after drawing a Thunderbird penalty, Saskatchewan clinched the equalizer with Julia Flinton scoring top-corner at the midway mark. By the end of the period, the home side led the shots 10-8.

An uneventful second period went scoreless though the 'Birds penalty kill unit succeeded in killing off two infractions and keeping the puck out of their zone.

Tied 1-1, the final game of the series was to be decided in the third period. Cami Wooster gave the Huskies the lead with a goal 5:31 into the third. Three minutes later, Heisler tied the game by scoring her second tally of the day, this time with the man advantage.

In net for Saskatchewan, Hendricks stopped 20 of 22 shots on the night, while Lemon, filling in for the injured Danielle Dube, stopped 22 of 25 for UBC.

The T-Birds capitalized once over five power plays, and for a second night in a row their penalty kill unit was a key component, killing off six of Saskatchewan's eight man-advantages.

Although UBC's season draws to an end, the squad has little to hang their heads about following another historic season.